Man Arrested In Florida After Making Violent Threats Against Trump
Florida police have apprehended a man accused of making violent threats against former President Donald Trump online.
Shannon Depararro Atkins, 46, was taken into custody during a traffic stop on Friday in West Palm Beach. Authorities reportedly discovered three baggies of cocaine in his possession during the arrest, according to the New York Post.
Atkins had come to the attention of law enforcement after they received a tip about inflammatory posts he made in the days leading up to the January 20 inauguration.
On January 19, Atkins allegedly posted on Facebook, “America needs one good bullet to be saved,” just hours before admitting he was banned from the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
“I’ve been banned from ‘X’ because I said I hope and pray someone kills him,” Atkins reportedly wrote. “History is supposed to repeat itself. We haven’t had an assassination in years.”
Later that same day, he shared a meme describing inauguration day as a “day of mourning,” captioned, “Bullets please. Please Jesus! Save America.”
On the day of his arrest, Atkins allegedly shared an image of Trump with his late wife Ivana, writing, “I hope they get back together soon.”
When questioned by authorities, Atkins admitted to making the posts but claimed they were meant as “jokes.”
“That gives you a flavor of some of the posts that this gentleman posted,” said West Palm Beach Police Chief Tony Araujo during a press briefing.
“Folks, this is not a joke. Nothing of that sort is a joke,” Chief Araujo emphasized. “In today’s climate, you really can’t say things like this. We have incident after incident, example after example, of when these threats become real. And we take these very seriously.”
Atkins is currently being held at the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Main Detention Center. He faces charges of drug possession and one count of written or electronic threats to kill, cause bodily harm, or commit a mass shooting or act of terrorism, a second-degree felony.
Whether federal charges will be pursued remains a decision for the Secret Service.
This incident is not the first time threats against Trump have led to arrests. During the presidential campaign in August, authorities in Arizona detained a man accused of similar threats.
The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office apprehended Ronald Lee Syvrud, a convicted sex offender, following a manhunt. Syvrud allegedly threatened to kill Trump, who was campaigning at the time.
Sheriff Mark Dannels confirmed that Syvrud was wanted for multiple outstanding warrants, including a DUI in Wisconsin and a hit-and-run in Arizona. Additionally, Syvrud had failed to register as a sex offender, despite being convicted of second-degree sexual assault of a minor in 2001. He is listed on Wisconsin’s sex offender registry for life and has used several aliases.
“Public safety consideration: Syvrud is being sought as an investigative lead for threats to kill a presidential candidate,” Dannels stated.
At a press conference held by Trump in Cochise County, a reporter brought up the threats, asking, “There’s a manhunt going on in this county… Somebody made death threats to you. Did you hear about that before coming? What are your thoughts about coming down here?”
Trump responded, saying he hadn’t been informed about the threat beforehand. “I’ve heard it’s dangerous, but I also have a job to do,” he said. “I heard it’s very dangerous. I haven’t heard about that; they probably want to keep it from me, thank you for telling me.”
He then joked, “Let’s get outta here right now!”